December 17, 2021

Student-athletes within the Cleveland Metropolitan School District will have the chance to experience a true “Friday Night Lights” home football game at Bump Taylor Field in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood. As part of our sponsorship with the Cleveland Browns, we partnered with the team on its “10 Days of Giving” initiative and announced we will fully fund a major community project to install a new lighting system at the field.

The announcement was made at a surprise event with dozens of Cleveland students and faculty, which was emceed by former Browns wide receiver Josh Cribbs.

Josh Cribbs addresses Cleveland students and faculty during a surprise event to announce the lighting project.

The installation of stadium lights will give Cleveland’s Glenville and John Hay high schools the ability to host more evening games and events at the site, including Friday night football games under the lights. The project is scheduled to begin this spring and is expected to be completed prior to the start of the 2022-23 school year.

“FirstEnergy has long believed supporting the greater good is better business and helping youth reach their full potential is, perhaps, the greatest good,” said Lorna Wisham, vice president, Corporate Affairs & Community Involvement. “We hope this incredible lighting upgrade brings new energy to the athletes from Glenville and John Hay high schools, who give their all on the field each week, and to everyone in the community who supports them.”

As the football teams take the field under new lights next fall, they will also be sporting new Nike uniforms courtesy of FirstEnergy and the Browns. Student-athletes in attendance for the lighting announcement were surprised with mockup drawings of their new team uniforms, and some said they were speechless about the gift to the team.

Glenville football players react to the news that the team will receive new Nike uniforms courtesy of FirstEnergy and the Browns.

Like other events with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Cleveland Guardians (previously, the Indians), this event is a good example of how we are leveraging our sponsorships to create positive change in the communities we serve.

“It’s because of the generosity of organizations like the FirstEnergy Foundation that inner-city schools like Glenville and John Hay are able to provide the equipment and resources these hardworking student-athletes deserve,” said Cribbs. “These schools have a rich history of producing NFL-level players and it will be an exciting moment when they play their first home game under the lights next fall.”

Community contributions to Bump Taylor Field over recent years have made it a popular playing field for Cleveland youth. In 2016, the Cleveland Browns Foundation helped revamp the field with the installation of synthetic turf and a digital scoreboard.

Click here to watch video of the ceremony announcing the stadium lighting project.